A Donegal man who sexually abused three female cousins in the 1980s was jailed for six years at the Central Criminal Court yesterday. Mr Justice Flood said the 36-year-old defendant was "not the full shilling", but he knew enough to warn the girls not to tell anyone about the abuse. The victims were aged between six and nine at the time.
Mr Justice Flood said the offences had a very serious effect on all the victims and they would require ongoing counselling.
The defendant was mildly mentally handicapped but he saw no reason not to impose the six-year term. He could apply for a review of the sentence in two years' time, but he would only be considered for release if very strict criteria were met.
The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to indecently assaulting one of the victims when she was aged seven, on an unknown date between July 10th , 1986 and July 9th, 1988.
A garda told Mr Gregory Murphy SC, defending, the man had never had a relationship with a woman and didn't appear to understand what a relationship was. He seemed to have believed he was having a relationship with the victims.
Mr Murphy said the defendant was admitting his responsibility and the girls had nothing to be ashamed off. There was no stigma attached to them. He also said that when his client was a boy he would be punished for misbehaviour by being "dressed up in women's clothes".